The Broward Juvenile Assessment Center, or JAC, is the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) central receiving and intake facility for arrested juveniles in Fort Lauderdale. Teens brought there are fingerprinted, photographed, booked and screened, then released to a parent or guardian, transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), or sent to another appropriate placement. The JAC isn’t a court, and intake there is not a finding that the teen did anything wrong.
If your teen was just taken in, the juvenile defense page explains how Adam D. Harmelin handles these cases.
What Is the Broward Juvenile Assessment Center?
BSO says the JAC operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week as Broward County’s central receiving and intake facility for arrested juveniles. The 17th Judicial Circuit says youth taken into custody for alleged law violations are transported there for processing.
What is a juvenile assessment? Under section 985.135, Florida Statutes, a juvenile assessment center provides central intake and screening. Its services can include delinquency intake, positive identification, detention admission screening, needs assessment, substance-use screening, physical and mental health screening, and diagnostic testing when appropriate. BSO adds that the JAC screens youth for public risk. Broward’s Juvenile Assessment Team uses an evidence-based behavioral health and substance-use instrument and a psychosocial evaluation, and it contacts guardians and juvenile probation officers.
The JAC holds youth only temporarily while the next placement is arranged. Whether a child stays in detention is decided at a detention hearing under section 985.255. A JAC screening is not a court finding that the child committed an offense.
JAC, Juvenile Detention Center and Adult Jail, What’s the Difference?
| Facility | Who runs it | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Juvenile Assessment Center | BSO | Intake, booking and screening of arrested juveniles |
| Broward Regional Juvenile Detention Center | State (DJJ) | Secure detention for youth placed there |
| Main Jail Bureau | BSO | Adult jail, with Central Intake for adult booking |
What is the main jail in Broward County? It’s BSO’s Main Jail Bureau at 555 SE 1st Ave in Fort Lauderdale, where Central Intake (booking) also operates. BSO runs four jails in total (BSO jail facilities).
Florida law limits how a child can be held in an adult jail. A child may stay in the secure booking area no more than six hours, and only for fingerprinting, photographing or awaiting transport (section 985.115). A child can never be placed in the same cell as an adult (section 985.265).
What Happens After a Teen Is Arrested in Broward?
A child taken into custody must be released as soon as reasonably possible. Release is ordinarily to a parent, guardian or legal custodian, or to another responsible adult if they can’t supervise the child. The exceptions are a need to hold the child or a court order (section 985.115).
Before any hearing, DJJ makes the initial detention placement decision using the statutory risk assessment. That decision is subject to mandatory-detention rules and other overrides (section 985.25). A child placed in detention gets a detention hearing within 24 hours of being taken into custody (section 985.255). Under 17th Circuit Administrative Order 2025-34-UFC, weekday detention hearings are in person before the assigned juvenile detention judge. On weekends and court holidays, the child appears virtually before the assigned first appearance judge.
Your child has the right to counsel at every stage, including advice after arrest and before the detention hearing (section 985.033). If the child and parents are indigent and can’t hire a lawyer, the court must appoint one. Administrative Order 2025-34-UFC says a parent or guardian must attend the determination-of-counsel hearing. A child whose weekend or holiday hearing was virtual is scheduled for an in-person determination-of-counsel hearing within three business days.
The Broward Clerk explains how charges are filed. The State Attorney’s Office reviews the police report and may file a Petition for Delinquency, which contains the charges against the child.
| Step | What happens | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Custody and JAC intake | Booking and screening | Release as soon as reasonably possible (s. 985.115) |
| DJJ placement decision | Risk assessment | Before the detention hearing (s. 985.25) |
| Detention hearing | Judge decides whether detention continues | Within 24 hours of custody (s. 985.255) |
| Investigation to State Attorney | Arresting agency presents its case | Within 8 days after secure detention begins (s. 985.255) |
| Petition for Delinquency | State Attorney files the charges | After reviewing the police report (Clerk) |
Missing the eight-day deadline doesn’t by itself require release or dismissal (section 985.255).
How this works in Broward County
- Juvenile cases go through the Clerk’s Juvenile Division in the West Building of the Central Courthouse at 201 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale.
- The courthouse and BSO’s Main Jail are each about 0.1 mile, straight-line, from the firm’s downtown office.
- The Broward State Attorney is Harold F. Pryor. His office’s diversion programs page lists juvenile alternatives, including Diversion, Juvenile Drug Court, Juvenile Civil Citation and PROMISE.
- The 17th Circuit names Juvenile Drug Court, Girls Court and Teen Court among its specialty and problem-solving courts.
- The Clerk’s public online case search is at browardclerk.org/Web2. Juvenile records are generally confidential, and the Clerk takes juvenile record requests in person or by mail (see below).
Our Broward County page has more on the county’s courthouses and agencies.
How Does Florida Decide If a Teen Is Held or Sent Home?
Detention placement must be based on a risk assessment, subject to statutory exceptions (section 985.245). The assessment looks at several factors:
- pending offenses
- offenses committed while a case is pending
- prior offenses
- firearm possession or use
- failures to appear
- supervision violations
- current supervision status
- abuse or neglect history
What are the 5 risk assessments? The official sources don’t name a universal set of five tools. What does have five parts is Florida’s detention screening form. Rule 63D-13.0021 incorporates it as DJJ/PROFRM 2, the Detention Screening Instrument. It scores five areas: most serious presenting offense, prior referrals, delinquent history, current legal status and current age. On that form, a score of 6 or less points to release, 7 to 12 to supervised release, and 13 or more to detention. Statutory overrides and court orders can change the result (section 985.255).
What are some common risk assessment tools? Florida and Broward use several:
- the Detention Screening Instrument
- the substance-use and mental health screening that section 985.135 lists
- BSO’s behavioral health and substance-use instrument and psychosocial evaluation
- the Community Assessment Tool referenced in DJJ’s intake rule, Rule 63D-13.0022
A judge can order a more or less restrictive placement than the score indicates, but must give written, clear and convincing reasons (section 985.255). Section 985.24 lists detention considerations such as risk of not appearing and risk of bodily harm to others. It also bars detaining a child for these reasons:
- to give a parent a break from legal responsibility
- to make administrative access easier
- to allow further questioning or investigation
- to make up for a lack of appropriate facilities
Can a First Offense Be Handled Without Court?
Sometimes. The 17th Circuit says the State Attorney’s Office may offer diversion to a youth accused of a first or second nonviolent offense. The offer isn’t automatic, and the State may bring the case back to court if conditions aren’t completed.
Florida law now calls programs formerly known as civil citation “prearrest delinquency citation” programs (section 985.12; ch. 2024-130, effective July 1, 2024). Each circuit sets the eligible misdemeanors, and firearm offenses never qualify. BSO’s JAC page still uses “Civil Citation” for Broward’s voluntary program for youth ages 7 to 17, with prearrest and postarrest options. The same page describes Community Justice Program participation of 45 to 90 days. That range comes from BSO’s program description. Records of completed diversion can be expunged, as covered below.
How Long Can a Teen Be Held in Juvenile Detention?
What’s the longest a kid can stay in juvie? There’s no single cap. Pre-adjudication secure detention under a special order is generally limited to 21 days unless the adjudicatory hearing has begun in good faith (section 985.26). Some serious charges allow longer holds, including certain high-degree felonies, violent third-degree felonies and firearm offenses. For those, the court may extend detention by up to 21 days, then in further 21-day increments after hearings and written findings (section 985.26).
Supervised release can continue until the adjudicatory hearing. If it reaches 60 days, the court must hold a review hearing within 15 days after the 60th day (section 985.26). After adjudication, a youth may be held while waiting for a moderate-, high- or maximum-risk commitment placement. That situation falls under a separate statute, section 985.27, so 21 days isn’t a universal maximum.
What Are the Possible Outcomes in Juvenile Court?
An adjudication of delinquency isn’t a criminal conviction (section 985.35). Dispositions can include probation, community service, restitution, treatment or commitment (section 985.435, section 985.437, section 985.441).
What is the most common sentence given to juvenile offenders? Florida law doesn’t prescribe one standard juvenile sentence. The court chooses among several dispositions and must individualize the result at the disposition hearing (section 985.433).
Can a Teen Be Tried as an Adult in Florida?
Yes, but direct file to adult court is discretionary only (section 985.557). The rules depend on age:
- Ages 14 or 15. The State Attorney may direct file only for listed serious felonies, such as murder, robbery, carjacking and armed burglary.
- Ages 16 or 17. The State Attorney may direct file for any felony when the public interest requires adult sanctions. A misdemeanor qualifies only with two prior adjudications or withholds, one of them a felony.
Mandatory direct file was repealed by ch. 2019-167, effective October 1, 2019. If a teen is direct filed, the case moves into the adult system, where criminal defense rules apply.
Who Can See a Teen’s Juvenile Record, and How Do You Get It?
Juvenile records are generally confidential, with statutory exceptions (section 985.04). One exception covers specified felony-related arrest information, which isn’t confidential solely because of the child’s age.
The Broward Clerk accepts records requests in person or by mail. The request can come from the juvenile, a parent or guardian, an attorney, or specified government officials, with photo ID. Mail requests need a notarized copy of the ID plus the juvenile’s name, case number and date of birth. The Clerk gives no juvenile case information by phone.
FDLE automatically expunges a juvenile criminal history record in two situations (section 943.0515):
- At age 21 in the standard case, meaning 2 years after age 19.
- At 26 for serious or habitual juvenile offenders, or those committed to a maximum-risk facility.
A person aged 18 to 20 may apply early if they’ve had no charges in the past 5 years and the State Attorney approves. The fee is $75 (section 943.0515). A minor who completes a diversion program for a misdemeanor or a non-forcible, non-firearm felony can have the nonjudicial arrest record expunged (section 943.0582).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the JAC the same as juvenile jail?
No. The JAC is BSO’s intake and screening facility. Secure detention happens at the state-operated Broward Regional Juvenile Detention Center, and only for youth placed there.
Can a teen go home from the JAC?
Yes. A child is ordinarily released to a parent or guardian as soon as reasonably possible, unless there’s a need to hold the child or a court orders otherwise (section 985.115).
What are the key changes in the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure for 2026?
Amendments effective January 1, 2026 changed Rules 8.040, 8.060, 8.085, 8.105, 8.110, 8.145 and 8.225 (SC2025-0237). Here’s what they did:
- A delinquency summons goes to the child, parents and legal custodians.
- Deposition-preservation motions moved into the prehearing-motions rule.
- Service and attorney-signature requirements were updated.
- The changes clarified the right-to-bail limit (8.105), the child’s closing-argument rights (8.110) and the 72-hour notice for remote hearings (8.225).
The October 1, 2026 changes to Rules 8.203 and 8.330 concern dependency cases, not delinquency (SC2025-1362).
What Should Parents Do First?
Use BSO’s JAC page to reach the facility and ask where your child is being held. It could be the JAC or the detention center. Your child has the right to advice from a lawyer after arrest and before the detention hearing (section 985.033), so it makes sense for your child not to discuss the allegations until a lawyer is involved.
If the family can’t afford counsel, the court appoints one. Under Administrative Order 2025-34-UFC, a parent or guardian must attend that determination-of-counsel hearing. If you’d like to talk with Adam D. Harmelin about your child’s case, his office is in downtown Fort Lauderdale, and you can reach it at (954) 294-9372.
This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice about your case.